


Double Dragons

by GooeyHeat



Category: King of Fighters
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-04-24 12:03:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14355060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GooeyHeat/pseuds/GooeyHeat
Summary: Kensou meets someone new through a silly mutual interest, and from there he learns that maybe his seemingly endless obsession with Athena wasn't all it was cracked up to be.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Why yes, this ship IS based entirely off of a single conversation Kensou and Muimui have in KOFXIV's story mode, why do you ask? I dunno, I thought it was cute. Deal.

Sie Kensou sat by himself on a wide couch, hunched over with his hands on his chin. Despite there being a good number of people milling about the fighters’ lounge, he was purposely sitting alone. It was the day of the finals of another King of Fighters tournament, one of the largest ever. The teams that had made it past a certain point had this special lounge to themselves plus a guest or two. They also had a special section of seats in the stands, but it was very loud out there and you could get a better view of the matches from the screens inside, so most of the fighters were in here.

The grand finals match was on now. Team China, comprised of two newcomers and legendary martial arts master Tung Fu Rue, faced off against the long-time KOF veterans of Team Japan. The fight was proving to be fierce, and the outcome unpredictable, despite Japan being the favorites.

But Kensou wasn’t paying attention to any of that. He was too busy brooding, silently beating himself up over losing in the match that put his team out of the tournament. “I had it all planned out. I would’ve won, and impressed Athena, and then I… I...” he mumbled to himself.

“What was that, Kensou?”

With a start, Kensou looked up, and there she was, sitting next to him, Athena Asamiya, training partner, singer, fighter, and the most beautiful girl he’d ever known. In her white shirt, red skirt, and trademark headband, she practically sparkled in his eyes… then again, she also actually sparkled due to the way she used her psychic powers. As always, he had been hoping that his performance in the tournament would’ve been good enough to give him a chance to tell her how he felt about her and sweep her off her feet. Now, though, that felt so far out of reach.

“Oh! N-n-nothing! I...” And there he went, getting nervous again. He took a breath to try and compose himself for a bit. “Sorry about losing our match for us, Athena.”

Athena looked puzzled. “Why are you sorry? You did your best, and besides, that team beat Master Chin and I, too. We’re all putting our all into this, and all our victories and losses are ours to bear together.” Athena gave him a patient smile. “We’re the Psycho Soldiers, and we can’t be stopped!”

Kensou tried to smile back, but his heart wasn’t in it. “Yeah… thanks. Hey, uh, I-”

“HEEEEY! KENSOU!!!”

An excitable, high-pitched voice completely obliterated Kensou’s pity party through sheer volume. The source was a girl dressed in a short, red, traditional Chinese-styled dress, with her hair up in a pair of round, almost Mickey Mouse-esque buns. Kensou racked his brain, trying to remember who the loud girl was, though he would soon be reminded anyway.

“It’s me, Mui Mui! Remember me? How’s it going?” Mui Mui beamed and ran over, leaving her teammates (a quiet girl with a hawk on her shoulder and a tall pirate woman) behind.

Kensou did remember her, but he wasn’t quite sure why she seemed to excited to see him. Still, he couldn’t exactly ignore her (both because it would be impolite and because she was really loud), so he turned to her and responded. “Hey there. It’s… nice to see you again,” he said.

Mui Mui noticed his attitude. “Why the long face? I hope you’re not sad about how you did in the tournament, because you fought REALLY well! I should know, you beat me! You can’t give up before I have my revenge!”

Kensou looked up at her face. Despite talking about revenge, she was nothing but smiles. Somehow, her boundless enthusiasm made him feel just the slightest bit better. “Thanks, Mui Mui.”

“No problem, but that’s not what I’m here for! Don’t you remember?” Seeing Kensou looking confused, she continued. “You said you were going to show me a really good meat bun place, so I came to get your cell number so we could go sometime after the tournament!”

Hearing mention of his favorite food got him to perk up. “Oh yeah! We were going to go to Kobe! Yeah, I remember what you said about a lot of them here tasting bland. A lot of chain restaurants use low-quality meat. I still get stuff from them, because it’s cheap and sometimes you just need a meat bun, but this place is the real deal.” As they took out their phones and added each other, Kensou went on. “I’m kinda surprised you have a cell phone. Didn’t you say that your world didn’t have them?”

“Yeah, but Love said we should have them so we can keep in touch when we’re apart. They’re not too hard to use, anyway.” They finished adding each others’ info. “Alright, I think Nakoruru wanted to go back to to our seats outside for her bird or whatever, so we gotta go. Stay on your toes, though! Nakoruru thinks something bad is gonna happen, and I think she knows everything. Stay safe, and I’ll text you later!” Mui Mui ran off, leaving as bombastically as she came in.

“Yeah, bye!” Kensou called after her. He found himself smiling somehow. He wasn’t sure why. He still had lost in front of Athena, he still wasn’t any closer to telling her how he felt about her. Everything that was bothering him was still there.

But somehow…

He felt better.

 

Elsewhere in the room, Chin Gentsai observed his students. Though he came off to others as a cheerful, silly, and regularly drunk old man, he nevertheless cared deeply about Athena and Kensou’s progress both as martial artists and as people. As he stood around, a shirtless, middle-aged man came up to his side and greeted him.

“Ah, Chin! It’s been a long time!”

“Oh, Gang-il! It sure has! You’ve been traveling the world, no? I’m surprised to see you enter a tournament again.”

Gang-il chuckled. “Well, I figured it was time to pay Kim a visit, and then one thing led to another, and here we are!” He followed Chin’s glance over to his students. “It’s been a while since I’ve had any long-term students. How are those kids you train coming along?”  
Chin smiled. Though he’d never admit it to them, he liked talking about how well his students were doing. “Well, Athena’s doing great. She always surprises me with how well she does, and the spirit she puts into everything. Not only that, she does it all while also keeping up her singing career! Now, I’m not up with the hip music the kids are into, but I hear she’s a pretty big deal. I don’t know how she does it, honestly. I guess that’s just the energy of youth! Ha ha ha.”

“Yeah, she seemed real strong from your matches that I watched. How about the boy?” Gang-il asked.

“Well, Kensou’s an odd one. On the one hand, he’s definitely a capable fighter. He’s strong, he picks up techniques well, and he’s got massive dormant power. Unfortunately, he doesn’t always seem focused… He always seems like he’s trying really hard to prove himself, and that pushes his mind away from the situation. Still, I think if he gets over that he’ll truly be something special.”

Gang-il scratched his chin. “You know… he’d never let you know it, but Kim used to be like that. I mean, he still does his grandstanding about justice and all that, but when he was around Kensou’s age, he tended to try and show off more. He seemed to have a chip on his shoulder about something.”

Chin cocked his head and raised an eyebrow. “Oh? What changed?”

Gang-il laughed. “He got married!”

Chin started laughing too. “Well, no wonder you’re STILL a show-off, then!”

“Oh, I walked right into that one!” Gang-il exclaimed, still laughing.


	2. Chapter 2

Life was pretty hectic for a bit after the tournament. After the monster now known as “Verse” attacked and was subsequently defeated through the combined efforts of the tournament finalists, every entrant the authorities could get their hands on was questioned. Though the original tournament champions (in a surprise upset, it was the China Team) still won the belt and the main cash prize, Antonov insisted on generous gifts to everyone who helped face Verse. In the case of the Psycho Soldiers, Chin divided most of the money into savings to take care of Athena, Kensou, Bao, and Momoko for a while, but left each of them some spending money and kept some for himself, too.

Now, though, things were calming down. Chin always insisted on a two-week break after major tournaments, where training was limited to daily basic exercise, and the Psycho Soldiers were taking advantage of their time off. Momoko was taking a lot of naps, Bao was catching up on some video games that he was able to pick up with some of the prize money, Athena was writing new songs, and Kensou was… well, he was pretty bored, as he lay on his bed.

Despite all the crazy happenings, he was in a similar state as he was before Verse’s attacked; unhappy with his performance and mentally beating himself down for his mistakes. Athena had tried to talk to him and make him feel better earlier, but he couldn’t even seem to listen to her; just being in front of her stressed him out more.

_Your wins were all flukes._

_You didn’t block your legs, you idiot._

_She’ll never like you when you fight like that._

_Just give up, loser._

More and more, Kensou was starting to feel like his feelings for Athena were a burden, rather than something nice. He was worrying about his every action and how it would seem to her. It was becoming a problem.

A light buzzing sound pulled Kensou out of his own mind and back into the real world. It was his phone, annoyingly positioned on a desk on the other side of his room. Kensou gathered all his strength and walked across to take a look at the alert. It was a message, with a picture attached.

**MUIMUI:** check us out!!! :P

The picture was of Muimui obviously holding the phone, with her face in the corner in a goofy smile with her tongue out, while Nakoruru and Love Heart looked towards the camera at an odd, obviously caught slightly off-guard. They were eating lunch; big greasy burgers on Love and Muimui’s plates, and a salad on Nakoruru’s. Kensou took a moment to respond

**KENSOU:** whoa, that looks pretty good!

**MUIMUI:** it was! weve been trying all different stuff since were gonna be staying in this world for a while

**MUIMUI:** there are lots more kinds of food than i ever had before! still luv meat buns more though lol

**MUIMUI:** SPEAKING OF WHICH

**MUIMUI:** WHEN ARE WE GOING TO KOBE?? ;-;

**KENSOU:** hmmm... is tomorrow good? I've got nothing to do...

**MUIMUI:** yessss!! ^_^ where do you wanna meet?

As the two hashed out the details of their lunch, Kensou's mood improved a bit. Having something to do would distract him from his own thoughts, at least. Besides, he was going to get meat buns at his favorite place. Nothing's better than that.

He was also glad that Muimui seemed to enjoy meat buns as much as he did. Athena and the others liked them, sure (who didn't? demons, probably), but they weren't as interested as he did. It was a bit of a silly thing to relate to people over, but it was how he was. Besides, Muimui's excitement, both about food and in general, was infectious, even through text. Plus, Kensou felt good about being able to get together with someone with no expectations beyond eating together and having fun.

Nothing notable happened for the rest of the day, and Kensou went to bed feeling a little better than he did went he woke up in the morning. He considered that a victory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one was a bit short. It was mostly just setup. Don't worry, the fun will start soon enough!


	3. Chapter 3

It was about 12:30 PM, and Kensou waited on the street corner. Kobe was about a block and a half away, but he figured it would look a bit weird to wait so close to the restaurant, so he told Muimui to meet him there. He wasn't really sure what to expect, but he didn't really need to think about it; he was gonna eat some meat buns, and that was enough for him. He was a bit worried about Nakoruru's bird, though. It seemed to listen to her, but it was still pretty big, and had some massive talons-

"HEY, KENSOU!!!"

He was snapped out of his thoughts of crazy hawks by Muimui's loud, excitable voice as she jogged towards him down the street. "Hey, Muimui!" He looked around. "Are you by yourself?"

"Yup! Love and Nak had their own stuff to do. Just us today!"

"Alright, then. Follow me, it's just down the road, okay?" If Kensou had thought about things a bit more, he might've considered the implications of going to get lunch with a girl, just the two of them. But he was hungry, and Muimui's attitude tended to put him in a good mood, so he just headed down the street with her in tow.

As they came to the door of the restaurant, Kensou stopped Muimui, and turned to her with an extremely serious expression. "Muimui... I need you to tell me something."

"What is it?" Muimui cocked her head to the side, looking a bit confused.

"I need to know that you're ready... for... the ULTIMATE. MEAT BUN. EXPERIENCE."

Muimui looked at him for a second before the joke clicked and she started laughing out loud. Kensou joined in, after holding his serious face for as long as he possibly could... which wasn't very long.

As Kensou's laughter slowed down, he looked up at her only to see her looking at him with a very intense face. Once he gave her his attention, she spoke in a dark tone. "You speak with arrogance, child. I believe a true master, like myself, shall judge this experience, and see if it is worth my time." She held her intense expression for even shorter than Kensou did before they both burst into laughter once again. Eventually they managed to pull themselves together enough that they could enter the restaurant together.

Kobe was definitely busy at this time of day, but it wasn't so crowded that the two had to wait too long before reaching the counter and ordering. Muimui let Kensou take the lead here, since he knew the restaurant, so he ordered for both of them, getting them both a good amount of meat buns and an iced tea for each. They took an order number and strolled to the nearest open table and sat down.

As they sat down, Muimui started talking. "It's nice to see you again! I'm glad you're okay after we all fought that weird monster guy."  
"Yeah, same to you. I think they're calling him Verse? There always seems to be some crazy, catastrophic event at these King of Fighters tournaments. I'm surprised they keep holding them, honestly," Kensou replied.

"Wait, this kind of thing has happened before?"

Kensou blinked for a second, before remembering Muimui was from another world. "Oh yeah, you weren't here for any one before this, huh? Well, there were those times a bunch of superpowered freaks kept trying to bring back Orochi, a god who wanted to wipe out humanity. They eventually succeeded, too!"

"Wow! Did you defeat him?" Muimui asked, wide-eyed.

"Well, I guess I helped a little, but really it was mostly Kyo, Iori, and a lady named Chizuru. Apparently they hold the Three Sacred Treasures, or something. I'm not caught up on all my mythology, honestly. It's all a little confusing."

"That's crazy! What else?" Muimui was enjoying his story.

"The next few tournaments were sponsored by this weird organization called NESTS. They did all sorts of weird genetic experiments on people, gave them crazy powers, and even cloned Kyo a bunch of times. That guy K' from the tournament? He and his team were all originally from NESTS before they ran away."

"Whoa! Did you fight in those tournaments?"

Kensou cringed. "Those tournaments were... a weird time for me. For some reason, I felt like I couldn't use my psychic powers anymore. But then, just when everything seemed lost, I tapped into some crazy new power I'd never felt before and helped my team escape! Master Chin called it the Dragon Spirit or something, but I haven't felt it since. Honestly it's a bit depressing, because even though I have my psychic powers back, I feel like without that I'm missing a part of me..." Kensou shook his head. "Sorry, I'm not sure why I'm telling you all this, heh..."

Muimui looked straight at him with a determined smile. "Well, from one dragon to another, I know you're already SUPER-strong! Don't think about everything you don't have when you're as powerful and cool as you already are!!"

Kensou looked off to the side with a nervous smile. "You... think I'm cool?"

Muimui turned to him, looking quizzical. "Of course! I wouldn't have said so otherwise. Anyway! What happened after NESTS?"

"Oh! Well next, was... uh..." For some reason, Kensou was having trouble remembering the tournaments between the end of NESTS and the most recent ones. He was sure SOMETHING had happened, but it wasn't coming to him. Before Muimui got a chance to grill him on his seemingly faulty memory, though, a waitress came by with their food, distracting them both from the story.

"Ooh, it smells so good!" Muimui said. She picked one up and took a big bite. "Delicious, too! You were right, this place IS awesome!"

Kensou smiled smugly. "Hah, I told you! Kobe's buns are the best!" He began to eat too, and for the next ten minutes or so they were too busy stuffing their faces to talk at all.

As they finished eating way more than two people of their size probably should, Muimui looked up at Kensou again with a big smile on her face. "That was amazing! We should do this again sometime soon. How about in a week?"

"Oh... uh, sure! Definitely!"

Muimui clapped her hands together. "Great! I'll look forward to it."

The two tossed their trash and walked out of the restaurant. As they walked down the street, Muimui continued to rave about the food, while Kensou smiled, glad that she had had as much fun as he did. They stopped when they reached the corner that they met each other on before lunch, and Kensou turned towards her. "I think we go different ways here, so... I'll see you later, I guess?"

Muimui smiled at him. "Yup! See you in a week!" Suddenly, without warning, she hugged him tight. Kensou turned a bit red in the face, but after a moment put his arms back around her. After a few seconds, they let go. Muimui gave a big, silly wave. "Bye Kensou!"

Kensou waved back. As she disappeared around a corner, Kensou took stock of the situation, and concluded she was just being friendly. Considering how excitable she was, she probably did that to all her friends. Still, he walked home with a spring in his step and a warm feeling in his chest. He had fun, and was looking forward to doing it again.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the love so far! I've been having a lot of fun writing this and so far the reception's been good. I hope you enjoy this chapter too!

"Alright then. Athena, Kensou. You kids remember the rules, of course. I'll judge, as usual. Take your stances."

Athena and Kensou squared up a number of feet from each other. It had been two weeks since the last tournament, and it was time for the Psycho Soldiers' proper training to resume. Chin prepared to give them the signal to start their sparring in front of the temple.

"Three... two... shoot, what comes after that? I always forget..."

"Master Chin!" Kensou yelled. He was always the one to get baited by Chin's little tricks.

"GO!" Chin suddenly yelled.

"Waagh!" Kensou was, as usual, caught off guard, letting Athena take the initiative and force him to defend. The two began trading blows, fists, hands, and psychic energy flying. As usual, the two were pretty evenly matched in strength, so the victory would inevitably go to the one that didn't fold mentally. As the two blocked and dodged their opponent's attacks, Chin watched closely, examining their every move.

The fight continued, and Chin started to realize that this fight was staying even for a longer time than many of Athena and Kensou's previous sparring matches. While it was true that they were of similar skill and power, Kensou had a tendency to try to pull off a flashy, yet ill-advised move that would end up leaving him open, allowing Athena to take advantage and knock him down easily. This time, though, Kensou was remaining focused and fighting smart, showing a level of patience that he hadn't before.

After a little more back-and-forth, Kensou suddenly found an opening. He tripped Athena up with a low kick, then unleashed a flurry of flying kicks, and finished with a powerful two-handed strike that was enhanced by his psychic powers, sending Athena sliding across the ground and signaling the end of the sparring match.

The three of them were silent for a moment. This was the first time Kensou had ever bested Athena in a sparring match.

Chin was the first to come up with words. "Oh, ho ho ho," he chuckled. "Now this is a new result! I'm proud of you, Kensou, for staying focused and calm for once."

"Great job, Kensou!" Athena added, climbing to her feet. "I guess I gotta step up my game, too!"

Kensou didn't say anything. He might have been the most surprised of any of them.

Chin walked over to Kensou. "That doesn't mean you were perfect, though. Don't get cocky, kiddo. For example..." Chin started to go into detail about the various minor mistakes both Kensou and Athena made, walking them through the fight and making sure they understood where to go from here. The two took his criticism with grace, and after some technique practice, they finished their training for the day.

That afternoon, Kensou leaned back on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He was still thinking about the sparring match, trying to figure out what he had done so differently, what was different about his mindset. "Master Chin said I was more focused and less arrogant... I didn't make any major mistakes..." He continued to mumble to himself. Why didn't he screw up like he usually did? He thought back to a previous sparring match that went in Athena's favor and played it back in his head, until he reached the moment that lost him the fight. "Oh, right." he said to himself. "I tried to pull something flashy to impress Athena, and-"

Suddenly, Kensou bolted upright. That was the difference. "I... I wasn't trying to impress Athena!" Kensou thought back to some of his previous losses, and realized that a common element was him trying to prove himself in front of Athena. In this match, though, that wasn't on his mind at all.

As Kensou mused on this change, he came to realize something even more surprising: Athena hadn't really been on his mind at all for the past few days. The love he had told himself was unshakable that had developed into a constant obsession had gone quiet. His mind had been in other places. "Why... why HAVEN'T I been thinking about Athena?" he asked himself in his mind.

Almost immediately after he floated that question in his head, his phone buzzed with the sound of a message. He picked it up to see another goofy picture of Muimui in a surprisingly picturesque location. As he texted her back and they got into a conversation, Kensou pushed aside his recent thoughts, leaving him completely unaware that his current actions may have just answered his question.

  


Elsewhere...

  


Muimui, Nakoruru, and Love Heart were on a hike in the woods. The three did this pretty regularly, since it both let Nakoruru and Mamahaha be closer to nature for a while and kept the group in shape for whatever trials they might face next. As they took a break in a clearing on a cliff that overlooked a wide valley full of lush trees, Muimui pulled out her phone, made a goofy face, and took a picture of both herself and the view behind her.

Love Heart looked at Muimui on her phone again and chuckled. "Texting your boyfriend again?" she asked facetiously.

Muimui looked up at her and pouted. "He's not my boyfriend! Not yet, anyway!" she protested.

"Heh. I was just messing with y- wait, what do you mean 'not yet'? You saying you really wanna date this guy?"

"What's wrong with that, huh?"

Love Heart smiled. "Nothing. I'm just surprised you're so forward about it." The two sat down on a rock next to each other. "You've already been on dates, haven't you?"

Muimui kicked her legs. "I... I think? I'm not sure they really count, though. He might just see them as friends getting lunch together, or something."

"Hmm..." Love Heart thought for a moment. "Maybe you should do something more obvious, then. A bigger event together."

Muimui tilted her head. "Like what?"

"Like... spend the day at the amusement park together. That would DEFINITELY be a date."

Muimui smacked her fist into her palm. "Of course!" She jumped up with a renewed energy. "Thank you so much! No wonder they call you Love Heart!"

Love Heart slowly stood up afterwards. "I really should've seen that one coming..."she thought to herself.

And so, while Kensou was still trying to figure out what was going on, Muimui was already setting a plan in motion...


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After a long absence (KOFXI Art of Fighting Team theme starts playing), I'm back! Sorry for the delay, I've got a few more irons in the fire these days, but rest assured I've been thinking about these guys! Lots of feelings this chapter ^^

**MUIMUI:** hi kensou!!!! first of all i wanted to say thanks for hanging out with me! ive been having a lot of fun! anyway i wanted to ask you something!!! do you want to go to neo geo world on saturday??? ive never been to a theme park like that and it looks like a lot of fun, and id especially like to go with you if you want :o so what do ya say??

 **KENSOU:** let me ask Master if I'm off that day, brb

 **MUIMUI:** okay!!!! ^_^

Kensou already knew he was free that Saturday. He wasn't actually about to ask Chin anything. No, Kensou gave that excuse to give himself time to think. He needed to think about what he had been doing, what he was going to do, and about feelings. Lots and lots of feelings. Weird, confusing feelings. As he laid back on his bed and thought, he eventually formed a mental list of questions to himself:

  1. Was this a date?
  2. If yes, did he want to go on a date with Muimui?
  3. What about his feelings about Athena?
  4. What _were_ his feelings about Athena?



As Kensou rolled thoughts around his head, he ended up attacking question #4 first. He loved Athena, right? He had for years. That was obviously true, right? It had to be. After all, he'd told himself that constantly. He had always worked to impress her and look good in front of her, and was always planning on telling her how he felt about her. He had practically structured his life around her. He had to love her, right?

His thoughts continued, and eventually, a fifth question bubbled up in his mind.

"What does love feel like, anyway?"

He surprised himself when heard his own voice mumbling this. Luckily, nobody was around, so he hadn't been heard. Back to thinking. When Kensou first met Athena, he had fallen for her almost immediately. Not shocking why; she was pretty, sweet, and had a sort of magnetism about her. Since then, he always tried to seem cool and tough to her. From his training to his fighting to his fashion, nearly every major thing he did was meant to make Athena look his way. It was true love. It was...

It was...

Frankly, it was a hell of a lot of stress!

This goal of impressing Athena with every action was actually weighing on him a ton. Every time he messed up, he blamed himself. He would tell himself that she'd never like him. Even his outward bravado and energy, something that Master Chin always told him to tone down, was mostly just him trying to convince everyone that he was confident and cool. It was a lot of talk that didn't mean anything! Was this what love was? Stress and self-loathing and false confidence? Putting himself down for every failure many times harder than he raised himself up for every success?

Kensou sat up on his bed with these internal revelations. His mind was moving a mile a minute at this point. He had to do everything right for her, didn't he? If he didn't, she'd laugh at him. She'd turn her back and he'd be left devastated. That's what would happen...

...

...

...well, no, no it wasn't. Athena was way too kind for that. This version of her he had in his head that would only accept him if he were perfect? That wasn't the real Athena. She'd always supported him. At this point, Kensou was starting to feel guilty for even thinking that about her. This judgment he was worried about never came from Athena. It was always his own.

"Of course!" Kensou said out loud, triumphantly. He jumped up from his bed... and caught his foot on the sheets, falling and hitting the ground with a crash. "Waaaaah- OOF!" He laid there for a few seconds, when he heard a light knocking at his door.

"Kensou? Are you okay?" It was Athena's voice.

"Ah! Yeah, I-I'm fine!" Kensou replied, scrambling to get up.

"Okay... let me know if you need anything, okay?" Athena said, as she started to walk away.

Suddenly, Kensou rushed to his door and opened it. "W-wait!"

Athena turned. "What is it?"

"I... I need to talk to you about something."

"O-oh, sure."

The two walked down the hallway to the kitchen and sat across from each other at a small table next to the window. "What's on your mind, Kensou?"

Kensou avoided meeting her eyes. "This probably sounds kinda weird, but... what do you know about... l-love?"

Athena gulped. Here it comes, she thought. She had been dreading this conversation for a long time. As important as Kensou was to her, she never liked him the same way he liked her. He hadn't exactly been subtle about his feelings over the years, and she knew she would have to turn him down at some point. She knew it would make him sad, and it would probably make her sad, too. She decided to lead with a diplomatic response. "Umm... not much, honestly! Why do you ask?"

Kensou was clearly still nervous. "Well... th-there's this girl I think I like... but I'm not sure if she feels the same way about me..."

Athena felt her stress building. The fact that he was trying to hide the fact that she was talking about her made it even more of a struggle. She wished he would come out with it already so the awkward conversation would end. "What's it like between you two?"

"Well, we've been hanging out a lot, and we have fun together, but the big thing is that she asked to go to the amusement park with me this weekend, and like... is that a date? Or..." Kensou trailed off.

Athena's thoughts were blindsided by this sentence. Wait a minute, she thought to herself. She had never asked him out to the amusement park. Is he... talking about someone else? "O-oh! Well..." She had to gather her thoughts. Kensou had seemed different lately... maybe he really did have a crush on someone else? "Maybe you could tell her how you feel when you're there?"

"But what if I'm wrong? Won't it just be weird?"

Athena looked thoughtful. "Well, I think if she's inviting you to something like this, she probably likes you back? And if she doesn't, she's at least a good enough friend that telling you how you feel wouldn't ruin your chances of being friends?" She was kind of running on fumes here. This conversation had really not gone how she expected. "Sorry, like I said I don't know much about this sort of thing..."

Kensou's face had already brightened. "No, no, that helps a lot! Thanks, Athena! I gotta go!" As Kensou rushed out of the kitchen to text Muimui back, Athena was left sitting by herself.

"That was... weird."

  


"Oh yeah, he's been hanging out with that girl from the last tournament a lot. You know, the loud one with those cute hair buns?" Momoko said. She was lying on the floor in Athena's room with her. "Why? You jealous?" she joked.

"No... it's just that Kensou talked to me earlier." Athena recounted the details of her and Kensou's conversation.

Momoko rolled over. "Wow! Who'd have thought that doofus would end up with a girlfriend before I did?"

Athena laughed. "Aw, don't be mean to him. He's a good guy."

"Coming to his defense, huh? Are you sure you're not jealous?"

"Nah. If anything, I'd actually say I'm relieved."

Momoko sat up. "Relieved? Why?"

"Well... you know how he feels about me. Or... felt, I guess. Heh, it's weird to say that. I really wasn't looking forward to turning him down. He's still important to me, after all, and I knew he'd be really hurt. So I guess..." Athena shrugged. "This problem kinda solved itself?"

Momoko pumped a fist in the air. "That's the spirit! If you ignore your problems long enough everything will work out great!"

Athena tossed a pillow at Momoko while laughing again. "That's not what this means, Momoko!"

Momoko picked up the pillow and threw it back. "Oh it's on, now!" she yelled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Psychic pillow fights can escalate quickly and lead to serious injury. Proceed with caution.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My longest chapter yet, and also my longest wait yet! wait that second part isn't a good thing, sorry about that

The sun shone brightly in the late morning, its rays giving the guests at the popular theme park, Neo Geo World, a nice warmth. However, there was also a slight breeze, keeping things from being too painfully hot. It was a perfect summer day, the kind of day you hope for when you go to an amusement park. Despite the wind, though, Kensou found himself sweating as he waited by the gate for his date to show up. (At this point he kept calling it a date in his mind in the hopes that it really was one.) He was wearing a pink t-shirt with a collar and a pair of khaki shorts that he hadn't worn much before. The outfit's simplicity hid the fact that he spent the morning in a slight panic trying to figure out what to wear, while Athena and Momoko helped him pick something out... or rather, Athena helped him pick something out while Momoko made smart remarks. Beyond that, his preparation was complete; he had triple-checked to make sure he had his phone, his wallet, some spending money, and a general idea of the attractions available at the park. Nothing could go wrong!

...is what he told himself on the way out, but he was feeling nervous now anyway. "I hope she shows up soon..." Kensou thought. He considered checking to see if he had got the time of their meeting wrong, but he settled for making sure he didn't have any new messages before putting his phone away. He didn't want to be caught looking at his phone when she showed up, and-

"Keeeensooooouuuuu!!!"

Once again, Kensou's thoughts were demolished by that distinct, loud voice that he'd come to appreciate so much. He turned to look at the source and was greeted by Muimui in her distinct buns. Her outfit was definitely new, though; a white short-sleeved blouse and a cute black thigh-length skirt.

"Hi Muimui! Wow, you look great!" he said before he even realized it. A cliche compliment, sure, but he did mean it. He had a tendency to let things slip when he was with her anyway.

Muimui beamed at him. "Thanks! Love helped me pick it out. Isn't it cute?" she said, giving a little turn to admire the dress from behind. "I like that color on you, by the way!" she went on, nodding at Kensou's shirt. "Now come on, let's go! I've never been here before and there's sooooo much I wanna try!" she said as she turned and started walking towards the admission booth. Kensou hurried after her, already less stressed than he was before she showed up.

The two paid for their tickets and entered the park. After passing through the gates, they were greeted by a site; large, colorful themed stands and buildings, roller coaster tracks, and crazy-looking rides everywhere they looked. Muimui's eyes lit up as she took in all the sights. "Wow, everything looks so amazing!" she said, full of wonder.

"So, what do you wanna do first?" Kensou asked.

"Hmm... I wanna ride a roller coaster!"

"Well, I think this is the nearest one," he said, glancing at a track that went over the path from the opening. He looked around a bit more, and then pointed. "It looks like the entrance is over there, so-"

"Then let's go!" Muimui interrupted. She took off running towards the ride's entrance, but not before grabbing Kensou's hand and pulling him along. As soon as her hand touched his, Kensou felt a warm feeling emanating from the spot, and he realized he'd made the right decision in coming here.

The two skidded to a stop at the back of the line for a pretty wild-looking roller coaster, the Stormy Scream. Kensou had imagined many theme park dates with Athena over the years, and he could say with certainty that none of them began with hopping right on the craziest coaster within a square mile. Far from worry him, however, the more spontaneous nature of his time with Muimui ended up helping him relax. In fact, at this point he was more nervous about the fact that she hadn't let go of his hand after they reached the line.

"You've never been on a roller coaster, have you?" Kensou asked.

"Nope! They seem like so much fun, though. You get to go so fast!" Muimui replied with a smile. "What about you?"

"Yeah, a few times, when I was younger, but it's been a while. And I've certainly never been on one this... big." As Kensou spoke, he took another look at the ride. "Wow, it really is big, huh..." he said, his voice wavering a bit.

Muimui tilted her head a bit, her face turning to concern. "Are you scared, Kensou?"

"Wha- no! I... I'm just..." Kensou trailed off, then sighed, realizing what he was doing. "Yeah, I guess I am."

"Good! Me too!" Muimui said loudly, surprising Kensou with both her frankness and her volume. "I'm excited and scared at the same time. But!" Muimui smiled at him. "I know we can be a little less scared if we're together!"

Kensou smiled back. "Alright, then let it be known to all that the Double Dragons will tame the Stormy Scream!" he yelled, pumping his fist in the air.

"Just go find some seats." The exasperated voice of the bored-looking man operating the gate at the front of the line interrupted their little moment. The two giggled as they walked to the roller coaster cars, sat next to each other, and strapped themselves into the harnesses.

After the usual safety announcements, the Scream began its initial ascent. As the anticipation built, Muimui took the moment to say some words over the mechanical din.

"Hey, Kensou?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for coming with me."

"No problem. In fact, thank you for invitAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH"

And with that, they were off.

  


The Stormy Scream gave Kensou and Muimui a taste for thrills and a rush of adrenaline that would, over the next hour and a half, take them on two more roller coasters, a swinging ship ride, a drop tower, and through a haunted house (where, to the duo's delight, they ended up holding hands the entire time). It was now the early afternoon, and the two were looking for some lunch.

"Hey, Kensou, how about that one?" Muimui pointed at a stall that was selling burgers, hot dogs, and other fried foods.

"Ooh, that might be good. I don't usually eat American-style food, so it'll be neat to try something different." The line was short, so they went and took their place. "That haunted house, though... Somehow, even though you know it's all fake when you walk in, you end up being real scared anyway. Must be the way they build the atmosphere."

"Yeah, definitely! It's just light enough that you can see, but dark enough that what you see looks way creepier. And that ghost costume really got me for a second!" Muimui smiled. "I'm glad you were there, Kensou. I might've screamed if I was by myself!"

"But you DID scream!" Kensou laughed.

"Well I'd scream LOUDER!" Muimui shot back, laughing as well. "Besides, you did too!"

"I sure did! I'm glad you were there to scream with me, otherwise I'd be really embarrassed!"

"Haha, yeah..." Muimui trailed off as she noticed something. "Hey, if the line at this stand is so short, why haven't we moved?" Indeed, there was only one person in front of them, and the employee at the stand was looking at them with an exasperated look.

Kensou looked at the person in front of him in line. They looked to be a teenage boy, around Kensou's height, with a comically wild mess of pale blond hair, as if he had just rolled out of bed. He was just standing there, silently. Kensou peeked around at the boy's face and noticed two surprising things. The first was that the boy looked familiar, though Kensou couldn't place where he saw him. The second is that he appeared to be asleep standing up.

"Hey... Are you... asleep?" Kensou asked. No answer. Kensou looked back at Muimui. "We might as well just go ahead of him, I think." As soon as they got to the boy's side, though...

"Wait... I haven't ordered yet..." A quiet voice spoke up. It was the boy.

"May I take your order, then?" The worker behind the counter asked, clearly a little annoyed and trying to hide it.

"Sure... I'll have... uh..." The boy trailed off, and started letting out light snores. Asleep again.

"Ugh, seriously?" Kensou said as he and Muimui walked back to behind the boy. "What's with this kid?"

"Really, Meitenkun? You're messing with these people? Come on."

Kensou and Muimui turned to the source of the voice. It was a tall teenage boy wearing a pair of headphones.

"Oh. Shun'ei." Meitenkun turned. "I was holding your spot so when you got back from the bathroom you could order."

"I told you what I wanted, though." Shun'ei replied, clearly used to dealing with the sleepy troublemaker.

"I... forgot." Meitenkun said quietly.

"Oh for the love of..." Shun'ei turned to the cashier. "Two hot dogs and two orders of fries, please." He turned back to Meitenkun. "It was the same thing you wanted, remember? You even commented about that."

"Oh... yeah I guess so..."

Shun'ei sighed. "Anyway, I'm so sorry, you two," he said, turning to Kensou and Muimui. "He can be... a handful sometime."

Muimui suddenly spoke up. "You guys were at the tournament! At KOF!"

Kensou blinked. "Oh yeah, that's why I recognized you. You guys were the winners, too, right? I'm surprised you can even be out in public without getting swamped!"

Shun'ei put his hand behind his head. "Yeah, we had to stay back at our master's temple for a few weeks, but after everything died down things are pretty much back to normal."

"You guys were great! No wonder you beat both of our teams!" Muimui said. "I'd love to have a rematch some day!"

"Heh, thanks. Same to you." Shun'ei shuffled on his feet a bit. "It's a funny coincidence, really; to think I'd meet two other KOF entrants here. Guess I wasn't the only one who thought this was a good date spot, huh?"

Kensou suddenly turned red. "Wh-what? What do y-"

"Sure is! We're having lots of fun together!" Muimui interrupted, clearly not sharing Kensou's reaction.

Shun'ei smiled. "Good." The cashier offered Shun'ei and Meitenkun their food, Shun'ei paid, and he turned back to Kensou and Muimui. "Well, it was nice seeing you." He looked down to Meitenkun. "Come on, you've caused enough trouble. You're lucky you're cute."

"Mm... I sure am," the sleepy boy replied, sounding like he was nearly dozing off again. The two walked off towards a table, letting Kensou and Muimui finally get some food.

Kensou and Muimui ordered and picked up their burgers and fries without fanfare, and then walked over to a different table on the side of the food court. The two were quiet for a bit, having not really shared any words after the chance meeting with the other fighters. Muimui, however, broke the silence:

"Wow, sure is wild running into other KOF participants, huh? Small world!" She smiled at Kensou, but was surprised to see him avoiding her glance, his ears still a little red. "Kensou?"

Kensou took a breath. "Muimui?"

"Yes?"  
"D-did you mean what you said earlier?"

"Mean what?"

"That this is a..." Kensou gulped. "A d-d-date?"

"Yep!" Muimui replied with no hesitation. Kensou's face turned red again, and he stayed quiet, so she continued. "I mean, I like you a lot, and wanted to go on a date with you, so I asked you here." She looked down a bit. "If... if you don't feel that way, though, that's-"

"N-no! No it's not that!" Kensou suddenly shouted, surprising them both. "I- I like you a lot too, Muimui. And I'm glad we're on this date. And!" He cleared his throat. "And I'd like to go on many more!"

Muimui looked up at Kensou. The two looked into each other's eyes for a moment that seemed like it would go on forever. Eventually, Muimui broke the silence, sounding much more tentative than usual. "So... that means we're... dating?"

Kensou took a moment, then nodded. "We are."

Muimui smiled quietly and blushed a bit, then suddenly tore into her burger like a wild animal. "This is delicious!" she yelled, suddenly her old self again.

Kensou took a bite of his. "Mm, yeah! Really good! Hey, we probably shouldn't ride anything crazy right after eating, so wanna go to the arcade after this?"

"Sure!"

And so, the two finished their lunch, and headed off towards the arcade in the park, holding hands once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the cameo of another ship I enjoy... as well as my headcanon of the official winners of KOFXIV's tournament. What can I say, I'm a sucker for "passing the torch" in series like this. Let the new protags shine, dangit!  
> Anyway, I'm definitely not done after this, don't worry. I mean, for one, they haven't even kissed yet ;)
> 
> (hopefully I'll get the next chapter out sooner, hhh)


	7. Chapter 7

"...Hey, isn't that Nakoruru?"

When Kensou looked confused, Muimui pointed to an older-looking arcade machine. "In that game there! I'm pretty sure I saw Nakoruru on the screen!" The two walked over to the cabinet as the screen displayed the words "Samurai Shodown V Special." A pair of fighters dueled on the screen, and one of them was, indeed, Muimui's dagger-wielding friend, complete with her signature hawk.

"Wow, that IS her! That's weird, huh?" Kensou replied, looking thoughtful.

"Why didn't Nakoruru tell me they put her in a video game? I wanna be in a game!"

"Well... this game's pretty old, but you guys only showed up in this world recently, so she probably doesn't know about it." Kensou thought a moment. "You guys are from another world, right?"

"Yup!" Muimui smiled. "That's us, the Another World Team!"

"Well, some people say that there are a bunch of alternate worlds... an infinite number either. And if that's true, then it's only a matter of coincidence that there's one where things that are fiction in our world are real in theirs," Kensou concluded.

"Wow..." Muimui said. "Hey, I bet there's a world out there where the KOF tournaments are a video game! Wouldn't that be fun?"

"We'd make the coolest video game characters!" Kensou said enthusiastically. "We could be on the same team and take on all challengers!"

"Yeah! The Dragons would be unstoppable!" Muimui responded, pumping her fist in the air. Kensou did the same, and they held the pose for a moment before breaking into a simultaneous laughing fit upon seeing their goofy stances reflected.

"So... you wanna play, then?" Kensou asked, still laughing a little.

"Hmm..." Muimui looked at the game a bit more. "Nah. It looks a bit too violent. Kinda creeps me out."

"Yeah, same. Let's find something else." The two walked around the arcade some more until they settled on a game called Taiko Drum Master, featuring two big drums and some cute mascots. The two put their credits in and grabbed the sticks.

"Kensou, why don't you pick a song?" Muimui suggested. He scrolled through the list of songs. Pop hits, classics, video game tunes, and more passed by until he suddenly saw a song that made him freeze up. A voice he recognized all too well echoed from the machine.

" _Athena's name is magic..._ "

It was Psycho Soldier, one of Athena's first big hits. In that moment, Kensou started to get nervous again. For years, Athena had practically been his life. Was he really okay with just... moving on? Was this the right choice? How much of himself was he throwing out? His mind raced until his thoughts was interrupted by Muimui's voice.

"You wanna play this one? I think you press this to start!" she said, pressing a button.

"Hey, Muimui, wait-" Kensou started to protest, but it was too late.

"Get ready! We're about to play!" Muimui said, with a huge smile on her face. Just that smile cut through Kensou's troubled thoughts like a knife.

_Of course._ Kensou thought. _I can't let that smile go._

He took up the sticks and began doing his best to keep up with both the song and Muimui. As the two slammed the sticks on the drums, Kensou's worries were replaced with happiness. Their performance shone with energy, their enthusiasm almost making up for their nearly dire lack of skill.

Almost.

"I can't believe you have no rhythm!" Muimui teased as the two walked away from the machine.

"Hey, you weren't doing any better!" Kensou protested. "And no, hitting it harder doesn't mean you were doing it better!"

"Well, I would've been doing better if you weren't distracting me! So blehh!" Muimui retorted, sticking her tongue out like a little kid.

"What? How was I distracting you?"

"Well, you were, um..." Muimui thought for a moment. "B-being cute!"

"W-WHAT?" Kensou immediately turned red in the face. "I... you... hgh... aeiou," His command of language completely left him. Muimui didn't say anything else, however; she, too, had turned red, and she turned away to hide her blush. If their faces had gotten any redder there would be steam coming off of them.

After what seemed like an endless moment of embarrassment, Muimui's spirit returned. "Hey, look at all the stuffed animals!" she said, pointing to a UFO catcher with a bunch of plushies in it.

Kensou smiled. "You want me to try and win you something? Tell me what you want me to go for!"

"That one!" Muimui said immediately, pointing at a stuffed panda.

"Alright. This will take me a few tries. You can't just pick the things up and carry them all the way across, you have to kinda push them around..." Kensou put in a few coins and started moving the claw around. "Hopefully... this should do it... drat, no..." he continued. A few more tries than he had hoped later, the panda was in the prize door. "Here you go!" Kensou said, a smug smile on his face.

"Thank you!" Muimui hugged the panda tight. "This really helps..."

"Huh?"

"It reminds me of Puipui... my panda friend from back home." Muimui's voice got quiet. "I had to leave him when Nakoruru asked me to come here... I miss him."

The two were quiet for a moment. Kensou put a hand on Muimui's shoulder, but didn't say anything. After a minute...

"Thanks, Kensou."

"No problem."

"Hey, Kensou..." Muimui's cheer started to return to her. "You wanna find some more rides to ride?"

"Sure. Sounds like fun."

"Okay!" Muimui grabbed Kensou's hand and the two walked out of the arcade. Once again, Kensou's face was bright red, as he thought, _I'm not gonna get used to this, am I_ _?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back again. Sorry I'm going a bit slower with this than I was at the start; I can't really pretend to have an excuse, especially since this chapter ended up a bit shorter than I had planned.
> 
> And no, Psycho Soldier is not available on any version of Taiko no Tatsujin, as far as I could find. Sometimes you gotta take some liberties.


	8. Chapter 8

"Really? A date?" Nakoruru's eyes widened. "That sounds great!"

"Jeez, I knew you two were getting used to this world, but I didn't expect you to be breakin' hearts already." Love Heart rolled her eyes.

"I'm not breaking any hearts!" Muimui pouted. "It's gonna go great!"

"I know, I know. Just messing with you, kiddo." Love smiled and tousled Muimui's hair a bit. "So I know you've hung out with this guy a few times already. What's he like?"

Muimui thought a moment, trying to figure out how to describe Kensou. "Let's see... he loves meat buns-"

"Are those really your standards?" Love chuckled.

"I wasn't finished! That's just how I got to know him, anyway." Muimui gave Love a little punch on the arm. "He's really sweet, actually. I can tell he cares a lot and always does his best. Plus he's a bit of a goofball. He's funny, even if it's not on purpose, haha." Muimui blushed a bit. "Plus he's cute..."

"Aww, well ain't that cute." Love Heart leaned back a bit. "So, you need any help? Picking out clothes, what to say, where to go-"

"Nope!" Muimui interrupted. "I want this to be all me! I can do it!"

"Huh. You don't sound nervous at all. I'm impressed." Love smiled.

"I hope you have a wonderful time." Nakoruru added.

"Thanks, you too! Yeah, I'm not nervous! I'm gonna go get changed, okay?" Muimui turned around to head to her room and change, when suddenly she stopped and turned around. "And I mean it! I don't need any help! So don't send Mamahaha to check on me! I'll notice!"

"Shoot, she figured us out." Love Heart said under her breath.

  


"I'm not nervous!"

Muimui remembered her words from that morning, when she talked to her friends about the date. She wasn't lying when she said that, either. She was nothing but excited, happy to both go to a place she hadn't been and to hang out with Kensou, who she really liked. She even managed to get through most of the day only getting a little bit embarrassed. She certainly wasn't worried. Kensou even said he liked her! They were actually dating! This was real!

So how come, now that they were sitting on the Ferris wheel, her heart was beating like crazy and she could hardly speak?

It was late in the day, the sun was low in the sky, and their carriage had a spectacular view of the rest of the park. Kensou and Muimui were sitting next to each other as they slowly rose into the air. Neither of them were talking; the obvious romantic tension in the entire situation had finally gotten to them.

_I should say something,_ Muimui thought.

_I should say something,_ Kensou thought.

"Ah-"

"I-"

At the same time. Back to square one.

A few more seconds passed. Long, long seconds. Muimui started thinking more. _Come on, Muimui! Where was that energy you had earlier today? Say something!_ Despite her best efforts, her thoughts didn't translate into action. Her normal, bubbly self was wrapped up in uncertainty. _What if he notices how nervous I'm being? What if I go too fast? What if-_

"Muimui..."

At the sound of Kensou's voice, Muimui snapped out of her thoughts. "Y-yeah!"

"I've... had a wonderful time with you today. All the time I've been spending with you recently has made me really happy."

_Is this good? Bad? Ugh, I wish I knew!_ Muimui thought. "Thanks...! Me... me too!" she said.

"And, uh..." Kensou scratched the back of his head and chuckled awkwardly. "It's funny, I guess this isn't how it usually goes in stories and all that, but I don't want to mess anything up, or do anything wrong, so, um..."

Two hearts beating intensely.

Kensou took a breath. "Can I kiss you?"

Muimui gulped, her face turning red again. "Y... Yeah."

They both leaned towards each other. Slowly yet surely, their faces got closer.

Of course, nothing's ever that easy. At that moment the carriage started moving downwards, and the way they were sitting caused them to both fall out of their seats with a clumsy crash.

Muimui raised her face up from the floor of the carriage and found herself face to face with Kensou, who was slightly sitting up. They both smiled and tried to stifle a laugh. Then, Kensou leaned in forward a bit and their lips met.

Their kiss lasted a few seconds, but it felt like they were there forever, yet not at all. When it was done, they pulled their faces apart and looked at each other for a few seconds. Finally, Muimui spoke.

"Kensou?"

"Yeah?"

"This is REALLY uncomfortable."

"Yeah, wow, it's pretty awful huh."

They both managed to clamber onto the seat just as their carriage started rising up the other side of the wheel. As they rose into the air once again, and the sun set over the horizon, neither of them said anything. They didn't really need to, after all. Because, at least for this moment, they knew each others' feelings like they were their own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little switch-up here: for The Big Moment, I shifted towards Muimui's perspective, which I haven't shown all that much up until now.
> 
> Perhaps one day I'll be able to release a chapter without having to apologize for the wait, but Today Is Not That Day.
> 
> Thank you all for your support! I've certainly got some more in store for these two, so don't you worry about that. :3c


	9. Chapter 9

"And, uh, yeah, that's basically how it went," Kensou finished. It was the next day, and he had been describing the events of the date to Athena (who was genuinely interested), Momoko (who was carefully mining his story for more things she could make fun of him for), and Bao (who was playing a video game but tended to enjoy being around everyone). The two girls had asked for all the juicy details almost as soon as he got home the night before, and though he resisted a bit at first so he could get some sleep, he knew he wanted to go over the events of that Saturday. Not really to brag (well, maybe to brag a bit at Momoko, specifically), but to almost reaffirm that it was all real and not some dream. So all the young Psycho Soldiers gathered on the floor of Bao's room, which was generally considered the most "neutral" space among them.

"I still can't believe you fell on her, dweebenheimer." Momoko said, holding in a slight laugh.

"I-I didn't fall ON her! Just in front of her! Completely different!" Kensou retorted indignantly. "Besides, I bet you WISH you could fall on a cute girl and then kiss her."

"Yeah, I kinda do." Momoko admitted. She leaned back a bit and looked up at the ceiling for a moment before continuing. "Well, I gotta say: you didn't screw it up. Athena didn't let me bet money on it, but if I had I would've lost. So good on you."

"Wow, thanks," Kensou said, quite aware that a backhanded compliment was probably the nicest thing he'd get out of her for a while.

"Aw, shoosh, Momoko, can't you go one night without dumping on him?" Athena asked, knowing very well the answer was a big fat no. She turned to Kensou and went on. "I'm glad you had such a good time, Kensou."

"Yeah, and she's REAL glad she doesn't have to deal with OOF," Momoko started, before being interrupted by a strong elbow from Athena. Kensou eyed them suspiciously, but didn't say anything.

"Anyway, I hope you'll be able to meet my g-girlfriend soon," Kensou said, stammering over the last few words. Athena giggled at his embarrassment. "It-it's not funny!" he protested.

"How were the rides?" Bao piped up, clearly asking the important questions around here. The discussion shifted to the more mundane topics of Kensou's trip after that, but he couldn't help but remember what Momoko started to say before. The conversation was interrupted, however, by a knock on the door of the room.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt you youngins and your teen gossip," Chin said, trying on purpose to sound like an out-of-touch old man just to tease them, "but we still have to talk about those weird letters we got yesterday. Come to the kitchen table in ten minutes or else I'll do something really annoying, probably... wait, I'm already doing that! Ohohohoho!" He continued to chuckle to himself as he walked down the hall.

"Well, guess we gotta deal with this," Momoko complained, getting up. "Oh yeah, you didn't see these letters, right, Kensou? Chin probably left yours somewhere, since you were out yesterday." She walked out of the room.

"He said he put yours on your dresser, Kensou." Athena said, as she and Kensou got up and walked out of Bao's room. "But before you grab it, can I... talk to you about something?"

"Uh, sure, what is it?" Kensou asked.

"Well, honestly, Kensou..." Athena paused, as the two stopped in the hallway between everyone's rooms. "I was kinda worried about you for a while." She gulped. "Because, well... I... never felt the same way about you that you did about me."

"Wait, you knew how I felt?" Kensou asked incredulously.

"You were hardly subtle, Kensou!" Athena laughed, but her laughter quickly died down. "I didn't really know how I could tell you until you told me directly, though, but I was always worried about how you would take it. Because despite that, you're still really important to me, and you always will be. So... I figured it was important to finally be truthful."

Kensou stood there in silence for a moment, digesting what he had just been told. Deep down, he probably knew all along anyway. "You're important to me too, Athena. Thanks." It was weird to think about, really; a chapter of his life almost seemed to have ended. But it wasn't a sad ending, despite it not being the one he'd hoped for.

"I'm glad to hear that, Kensou." With that, Athena stepped forward and hugged him, and Kensou hugged back. She had hugged him before, but it was always a sort of bittersweet thing, with Kensou left to wonder whether it "meant anything". This time, there was none of that uncertainty; just the warm embrace of a friend who wanted the best for him.

It felt better.

  


"So... you're probably wondering why I called you here today." Chin said, pacing around the kitchen table along with the four young Psycho Soldiers.

Kensou rolled his eyes. "Master, we know why you called us here. To look at these letters."

"Ohoho! Perceptive as always! Since you're just paying so much attention, why don't you open yours and take a look? You're the only one who didn't get to see it yesterday, after all."

Kensou looked at the envelope. It had a fancy trim to it; certainly from someone with money to burn (or at least who wanted to look like they were), but there was no return address. He opened it up and read the letter inside:

  


Dear my esteemed guest,

If you are reading this, then you, as a participant of the eight, ninth, and/or tenth major King of Fighters tournament, are formally invited to a grand ball, to be hosted at Blanctorche Manor. Included in this envelope are your official ticket, as well as information of the date, time, and location of this event. Each guest may bring a plus one, if so inclined. Fancy dress is to be expected, of course.

I can't wait to see you!

Cordially,

A.C.

  


Kensou put the letter down. "Eight, ninth, and tenth tournaments... why those in particular? And who is 'A.C.'?" he asked those at the table.

"I don't know," Athena admitted. "I don't think anything major happened at those, but I can't shake the feeling I'm forgetting something."

"Me too. And I don't just mean what I had for dinner last night," Chin added, chuckling.

"What's Blanctorche Manor?" Momoko asked.

"Blanctorche... I think they're some rich family from France?" Kensou wondered out loud.

"Indeed. Years ago, their mansion burned down and most of them died, but I think one or two of them might've survived? I guess they've rebuilt or something." Chin said.

"Whatever's going on, I'm suspicious," Athena said, sounding determined. "As Psycho Soldiers, we have to investigate!"

"I agree. Although..." Chin scratched his chin, looking thoughtful. "If nothing else, it is a party. So make sure to enjoy it, too. They'll probably have some good drinks!"

Kensou looked around nervously. "B-by the way, it says I can bring someone with me, so, uh-"

"Oh my GOD Kensou just bring your dang girlfriend and stop acting like a doofus," Momoko interrupted, rolling her eyes. Kensou turned red and looked down.

"Yes, it's okay if you bring a guest, Kensou." Chin confirmed. "I have to bring Bao anyway, since he wasn't at any of those tournaments."

"Well, I for one am looking forward to meeting her outside of the arena," Athena said, shooting Momoko a slight glare. "Anyway, guys, you know what a fancy event like this means, right?" The other Psycho Soldiers looked at her, slightly confused.

Athena clapped her hands together. "We gotta get you all dressed up!"

Kensou, Momoko, and Bao all groaned and rolled their eyes, knowing from experience that Athena would have them working on their outfits for weeks...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all didn't think I didn't have a few little twists up my sleeve, hehehe.
> 
> ...I also hope you all didn't think that I died.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wait, what do you mean it's been nearly a year since I started writing this fic, what the fuck where does the time go

**MUIMUI:** todays the day! were on our way to the airport!!! im so excited, we havent been to france yet!!

**KENSOU:** oh, were you planning on going eventually?

**MUIMUI:** weve been doing a lot of traveling since we figured we would be in this world for a while so it was on the list... but its gonna be so much more fun going with you!!! ^_^

**KENSOU:** yeah i'm looking forward to it too! oh, we're about to park. see you at the gate!

**MUIMUI:** okay! see you in a few! <3

**KENSOU:** <3

Kensou put his phone in his pocket as Athena pulled the car that the five Psycho Soldiers were slightly stuffed into around a corner and into  a parking space. As they all got out of the car and grabbed their luggage from the trunk, Athena smiled. "You know, it's rare that we get to travel like this unless I'm touring or we're in a tournament. It's pretty much a vacation!"

"Yeah, France always seemed really nice but we never got time to really see the sights or take in the culture," Momoko added. "I'm excited!"

Kensou nodded as the gang started walking towards the building. "Me too. Even if this event is a bust, we'll still have a few days to spend in Paris. It'll be great."

Athena looked back towards Kensou and smiled mischievously. "You know, they say Paris is one of the most romantic cities on Earth. You wouldn't happen to have any... ideas, would you?"

Kensou turned red. "We're barely out of the car and you're already making fun of me? This is going to be such a long trip..."

"Sorry, I couldn't resist," Athena giggled.

"Well, I'm definitely looking forward to those famous French wines!" Chin laughed.

"We know, Master," everyone else  groaned in unison.

  


The five made it through airport security with little hassle. Despite being a famous pop singer, Athena tended to enjoy relative peace in public, especially when surrounded by the other Psycho Soldiers. Perhaps it was the knowledge that they were all probably within the top 100 strongest people on the planet that kept people from giving them trouble. At any rate, the group found their gate and sat down in the waiting area. The airport wasn't particularly crowded; they picked a relatively quiet day of the week to fly. Kensou relaxed for a few minutes, until...

"HEY!!!"

The characteristic loud voice he'd come to love  hit him like a train. Kensou looked up from his seat to see Muimui smiling and waving, flanked by Nakoruru and Love Heart. The group of five got up to meet the group of three, and Kensou and Muimui hugged in the middle.

"Hi everyone!" Athena smiled. "It's nice to see you all again!"

"Agreed." Love said. She looked down and saw Bao standing next to Chin. Smiling, she said "Who's this little guy?"

"I'm Bao! It's nice to meet you!" he replied, holding his hand out and giving her a big handshake.

"Same to you, kid." Love Heart looked around. "Y'know, a lot of people say flying is stressful, but compared to what I ran into in the skies in my world, it's pretty peaceful."

"Yeah, well, not everyone expects to get into sky pirate battles every time they leave the ground," Muimui quipped.

"It certainly is quite amazing that something so large and heavy can fly as high as a bird can," Nakoruru mused.

At that, Kensou noticed something. "Speaking of birds, where's your bird?"

"Oh... we learned the hard way that it's pretty challenging to bring birds on planes. Mamahaha will meet us at our destination. She can always find me, anyway."

Kensou imagined several unsettling images of a large hawk in a plane cabin and decided not to press the issue further. "So where are you guys sitting?" The two groups showed each other their tickets to figure things out. "Looks like we're a few rows apart."

Muimui shuffled a bit. "Hey... w-would it be okay if I sat next to Kensou?"

"Sure," Love Heart replied. "One of you will have to switch and sit with Nakoruru and I, though."

"I'll do it!" Momoko said, a little too enthusiastically. "I'm Momoko, and can I just say that YOU are-"

"Don't start with me, kiddo, I've heard it all before," Love Heart said, cutting off Momoko's half-assed flirt before it could even get started.

Momoko pouted. "I'm not a kid!"

"Sixteen's still a kid," Kensou smirked.

"Yeah, and you still have dorky hair," Momoko shot back.

"Really? That's a poor comeback, even for you."

As the two shot a few more insults at each other, Athena turned to the Another World group. "They're always like this," she said, shaking her head. Muimui giggled at this.

The argument was cut off by an announcement. "Flight 214P to Paris will now begin boarding." The eight made their way onto the plane, and shuffled to their seats. Kensou took a window seat. Muimui sat next to him, and Athena took the aisle seat. Across the aisle was Chin, Bao, and an empty seat (lucky break!). Three rows forward, Momoko sat between Love Heart and Nakoruru.

Muimui squirmed in her seat a bit, looking uncomfortable. Kensou looked over and took notice. "Hey, you okay?"

"I-I'm still not used to planes. Taking off makes me nervous. We never had anything like this where I'm from..." she replied.

"If you're scared, just hold onto my hand. It'll be okay."

Muimui smiled at him. "Heh, pretty smooth excuse."

Kensou blushed. "H-hey, it wasn't an excuse! I'm really trying to help!"

Muimui took his hand. "I know. It's just cute seeing you react."

"Yeah well, react to THIS." Kensou leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, causing Muimui to turn red. "See? Now we're both all red."

Athena smiled at her longtime friend and her (hopefully!) new friend, glad they were having a good time, before putting on her headphones and cranking the volume on a recent metal album for the duration of the flight. (Look, when you sing pop music all the time, you need to listen to something different to keep from going crazy.)

  


After an 11+ hour flight, time zone struggles, and the general hassle of getting to their hotel, the Psycho Soldiers were dead tired. Bao was already asleep, with Chin carrying him on his shoulders as the group headed through the hallways to their rooms.

"I think Bao's got the right idea," Kensou said, yawning. "We'd all better get some sleep."

"Agreed," Athena added. "The ball is tomorrow, too; don't want to be tired for something like that."

"I still have so many questions. Who called so many KOF participants out here, and why those tournaments, anyway?"

"It's hard to say. We'll just have to be careful. Hopefully we'll still be able to enjoy it, though." Athena mused for a bit. "Considering the Verse incident, a lot of our past foes could be in the picture again."

"Yeah." Kensou put his hands behind his head. "Then again, this doesn't seem like NESTS's modus operandi, and the initials 'A.C.' don't match up with any known Hakkesshu, nor any member of the Bernstein family."

"It's a real mystery," Athena concluded. "But whatever happens... we'll be ready."

Kensou nodded in agreement. "Yeah."

As the Soldiers split into their rooms, Kensou and Athena both reflected that, with both their strength and that of those they cared about, they could face anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally wanted to move straight into the ball chapter, but upon realizing how much of a trip the characters would be making I figured glossing over that time wasn't really possible, so I made this. Still, I have a pretty clear idea of where I want that chapter to go, so I think I'll be able to put it out a bit sooner. Look forward to seeing a lot of familiar faces ;)


End file.
